California "momfluencer" convicted for falsely accusing Latino couple of attempted kidnapping

A social media influencer who styled herself as a so-called “momfluencer” was convicted in Northern California for falsely accusing a Latino couple of trying to kidnap her children.

Katie Sorensen, 31, was found guilty on one count of making a false report of a crime Thursday and faces up to six months in Sonoma County Jail.

“This verdict will enable us to hold Ms. Sorensen accountable for her crime, while at the same time helping to exonerate the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children,” Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez. “The case is also important in that it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly.”

The charges stem from an incident that arose more than two years ago. In December 2020, Sorensen published a video to her now-private Instagram profile in which she alleged her children were being preyed upon for kidnapping in the town of Petaluma.

According to Sorensen, the mother of two was shopping at a Michael’s craft store, and suddenly left the to report to alert the police a Hispanic couple inside the store tried to abduct her children.

“My children were the targets of an attempted kidnapping,” Sorensen told her audience. “I want to share that story with you in an effort as to what signs to look for and encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them.”

The California “momfluencer” has more than 58,000 followers on her Instagram account, which she calls “motherhoodessentials.”

Sonoma law enforcement officials identified the Hispanic couple as Sadie and Eddie Martinez, but found the mother’s report suspicious since she stressed she didn’t want the police to make an arrest, but rather just alert them to “concerning behavior exhibited by the couple,” according to a Petaluma Police press release.

Police were equally bothered by the fact that Sorensen shared the story with her audience, even adding “great detail” that she had not originally told the police, the Sonoma County District Attorney said in a press release.

The “motherhoodessentials.” video quickly went viral spurring an interview with KTVU local television, where she made the allegations again against the Latino couple.

Law enforcement agents were able to obtain security camera footage from Michael’s and made a quick determination no attempted abduction of anyone took place.

The Martinez family quickly sited the incident as a racial attack on their family.

“Do you really think it’s OK to go online and be racist and make stories about a family?” Ms. Martinez said after the incident was reported. “It’s hard enough to be a Latin family in a white community.”

The Latino couple, who are also parents, were at Michael’s buying a decorative baby Jesus at the cash register.

Prosecutors charged Sorensen in April 2021 with two misdemeanor counts of making a false report of a crime, and after she was convicted in court, Sorensen was taken into custody.

Her bail has been set at $100,000.